Swansea City Transfer News: Club Agrees to Transfer Fee with Gylfi Sigurdsson

Earlier today, Sky Sports announced that Swansea City had agreed to a deal with German team Hoffenheim for the services of attacking midfielder Gylfi Sigurdsson, as well as personal terms with Sigurdsson himself, and he is undergoing a medical. 

The Icelander spent the second half of last season on loan in South Wales, and proved that he is a player of Premier League quality. The fee is believed to be around £6.8 million, which would be an absolute bargain.

Being a Reading fan, I have followed Sigurdsson's development in our academy for a few years now and can tell you that this would be an absolute gem of a signing for the Welsh side. 

In the five years he spent at Reading—from the age of 16—his playmaking ability from the attacking midfield position and goal-scoring ability set him apart from the rest. 

He showed maturity at a young age—having shined in various loan spells—and established himself in the first team in 2009-10, a season during which Brendan Rodgers was briefly manager. 

He earned the Player of the Year award at Reading in 2010, the same award at Hoffenheim in 2011, and has already established himself as a player worthy of the Premier League in 2012. 

His loan spell at Swansea conjured up seven goals in 17 starts, and helped them comfortably avoid relegation despite many predicting them to go down at the start of the season. 

There are two questions I ask myself when evaluating this transfer. 

First, having purchased Sigurdsson for just over £6.5 million, why are Hoffenheim willing to let him go for around about the same price? Even though Sigurdsson was keen to remain in the Premier League, it is clear that buying him for the same price now would be an absolute steal by the Welsh side. 

Secondly, why hasn't a bigger team come in with an offer for the player? He is clearly good enough to play for most sides in the Premier League. 

There are certainly teams with more financial muscle than Swansea who could've signed him. 

What is clear, and has been clear for many years, is that Sigurdsson will be playing his football at the highest level for top teams over the course of his career.  

Considering how well Swansea performed last season though, you'd have to say that his development as a footballer is likely to continue in South Wales as Brendan Rodgers' side prepare for their second season in the Premier League